'Explain' your tattoo

2

Replies

  • jgsimon1
    jgsimon1 Posts: 61
    I have one on my back with no particular meaning. It's a vine with butterflies and roses. It was my first one I got when I turned 40. My second one is on my leg and it's 3 adjoining heart with my kids' names in each heart....the top heart (my oldest daughter) has two hearts that are joined to that with her children (my granddaughter's names) in each heart .....I guess if I have more grandchildren, I'll have to add to the tat.

    I am getting a third one this weekend on my foot.....an infinity tattoo. I want something to represent my commitment to my significant other without the bad karma of having his name put on the tattoo.
  • holagatita
    holagatita Posts: 1,785 Member
    I have a few but the one in my profile pic is the newest. I got it on Mother's day as a tribute to my mom who passed in November from cancer. she had a love of elephants and collected elephant statutes and figurines.
  • teresamwhite
    teresamwhite Posts: 947 Member
    I have a Japanese tribal piece, and inside it says"Made In Japan"...because (wait for it...) that's where I was made, while my parents were stationed in Japan. Curving under it is the copyright symbol and the year I was born. They always joked about tattooing me with the little rectangle, like a toy made in Japan. When I was 21 I got it done by a medic in Germany. He was able to take my dad's sketches from his scrapbook while they were overseas and turn them into the perfect backdrop for the words.
  • fullersun35
    fullersun35 Posts: 162 Member
    I have bird of paradise flowers around my arm. It was my high school class flower. I was an unhappy, withdrawn person in high school, and it reminds me to constantly step out of my shell and not be that person anymore.
  • my first tattoo (i dont have a picture of) is my name Crystal & tribal on each side of it.. i didnt think i would ever actually get a tattoo so it didnt have any real meaning or anything. but i would still get it again. its on my lower back.

    then i got my wrist tattoos when i weighed 250lbs. it was my first ultimate goal. something i didn't think i could ever reach. but i did. this is my left wrist. its an infinity heart. (yeah its a typical flash tattoo) but its my favorite. its a reminder to always love myself.. it also reminds me of a track.. which i started walking and jogging about that time. it was where i felt that i "found myself". so in a sense its also like im saying i love running.. (which i do). then also another thing is that the number 8 is my lucky number and is around me in alot of different ways.. well, an infinity sign is just like an 8 isnt it.

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    then here is my right wrist.. its the word believe with the b as a heart.. and then a butterfly at the end. i wanted to have something to look down to whenever i felt like giving up that would be a reminder to keep pushing on.. to keep believing in myself. so i got the word believe.. i wanted this whole heart theme (because under my first tattoo the Y to my name curls up at the bottom like a heart in my opinion).. so thats where i decided for the b to be a heart.. and then the butterfly.. well that was supposed to have to do with the whole "caterpillar becoming a butterfly" thing.. but also butterflies remind me of my grandma which i no doubt believe is watching over me 100% from heaven.. so it meant a few things too.. (but i actually hate how that butterfly turned out and plan on getting it covered up and made to a dragonfly or nicer butterfly... which would still be along the lines of changing from an ugly little caterpillar to something far more beautiful)

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  • Guns_N_Buns
    Guns_N_Buns Posts: 1,899 Member
    I have a few but the one in my profile pic is the newest. I got it on Mother's day as a tribute to my mom who passed in November from cancer. she had a love of elephants and collected elephant statutes and figurines.

    I love elephants. Sorry to hear about your mom!
  • Alisontheice
    Alisontheice Posts: 9,611 Member
    Mine is a purple butterfly with an eye in the wing. Got it after my divorce. Purple is my favourite colour and the eye in the wing is watching over me.

    I want to get a diamond with a figure skate in it.
  • _Pseudonymous_
    _Pseudonymous_ Posts: 1,671 Member
    I only have one tattoo and it's a peacock feather on the inside of my arm.

    The story and meaning behind it is both dark and uplifting. I used to suffer from depression throughout my teen years and used to deal with it with cutting (I realize how stupid that is NOW but then it was the only way to deal with guilt, fear, sadness and all that was overwhelming). Several years after I had quite and gone through a healing process that has made me who I am today but I ended up with hundreds of scars all over my body, especially on the inside of my forearms and my thighs. I hated seeing that reminder of that part of my life so I decided to take seeing this negative aspect of my life and decided to replace the ugly with something beautiful to remind me to always look towards the beauty in life and to not be consumed by the past.

    I realize how silly it seems but yep. That's the story. :happy: :drinker:
  • spirit095
    spirit095 Posts: 1,017 Member
    I have 2 tattoos and I got them because one is of my birth sign and I liked the quote for the other. No real deep meaning.
  • MireyGal76
    MireyGal76 Posts: 7,334 Member
    I only have one tattoo and it's a peacock feather on the inside of my arm.

    The story and meaning behind it is both dark and uplifting. I used to suffer from depression throughout my teen years and used to deal with it with cutting (I realize how stupid that is NOW but then it was the only way to deal with guilt, fear, sadness and all that was overwhelming). Several years after I had quite and gone through a healing process that has made me who I am today but I ended up with hundreds of scars all over my body, especially on the inside of my forearms and my thighs. I hated seeing that reminder of that part of my life so I decided to take seeing this negative aspect of my life and decided to replace the ugly with something beautiful to remind me to always look towards the beauty in life and to not be consumed by the past.

    I realize how silly it seems but yep. That's the story. :happy: :drinker:

    I think it is a beautiful idea. <3
  • ZOOpergal
    ZOOpergal Posts: 176 Member
    I have the face of a mountain lion on the top of my foot. I worked with rescued exotic cats for ten years, and the tattoo is an actual animal I worked with. The tattooist was a portrait artist ant, I think, did a great job with the shading to keep it realistic. I love it. If posting pics on this site were easier I would take the time to post it.
  • GeordieGirl80s
    GeordieGirl80s Posts: 120 Member
    I currently have 2 tattoos, my first one is a purple & gold Maltese cross on my right shoulder blade that I treated myself to for my 21st. My 2nd one is stylised poppies & little stars with my stepkids names top & bottom on my right calf, which my now ex paid for just after we moved in together.
  • Mello_Rello
    Mello_Rello Posts: 421 Member
    I've got a phoenix over my heart. The phoenix dies but comes back to life stronger and more powerful than before, an the cycle continues. Got the tat because despite all I've experienced in life thus far I'm strong, and though I should be dead, I'm still here.

    Have a tribal butterfly my back that represents ambition and intelligence.
  • kuntry_navySD
    kuntry_navySD Posts: 106 Member
    family, farming, hunting, fishing, aviation, working off-shore oil rigs and naval traditions and superstitions, the great state of South Dakota and one of my old coonhound red
  • cantjustcant
    cantjustcant Posts: 1,027 Member
    I am a Michigan block M with the words "those who stay will be Champions" It's a quote by legendary Michigan football coach Bo Schimbechler on my left calf. On December 9th 2011 I quit smoking. Every day I would put $6 in an envelope. The quote I put on post it notes all over my house. When I reached one month I went to tattoo shop. I say if I go back to smoking I have to cut my leg off!
  • The_WoIverine
    The_WoIverine Posts: 367 Member
    All of my tattoos have a life or spiritual meaning. I have the eyes of ra and horus, I have a dragon, I have a warrior skull, I have a pentagram with the goddess and good with the moon and the sun.

    My last tattoo, the one below is a bio-mechanic design, which basically represents my physical body being a vehicle/tool of my soul and spirit in this physical lifetime.

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  • I just have the one (so far... :P), the Triforce from the Legend of Zelda game series, on my arm. Because I like Zelda.

    I'm planning on getting a geometric/origami style horse (which I'm designing) on my ankle, because I love horses, and a paper airplane on my wrist, because I love traveling.

    My reasons aren't very 'deep', but I don't think they have to be :P

    I also want the quote "I am not the same having seen the moon shine on the other side of the world" somewhere, but idk, it's quite lengthy and I'm not sure where to put it.
  • crystalpotts
    crystalpotts Posts: 130 Member
    I have "Believe" on my left wrist with three stars above it. It's a reminder to me to just believe in myself and i can do anything. The three stars represent my children, one I miscarried and my son and daughter.
  • burning2much
    burning2much Posts: 4,846 Member
    The one on my back has great personal meaning, it's seven skulls with a dragon atop of them. Each skull represents a belief in life with the dragon as protection.
  • La_Malfaisante
    La_Malfaisante Posts: 1,509 Member
    A lot of my tattoos are of personal meanings..,.things I went through and some other ones I got just because I wanted to...
  • kvansanity
    kvansanity Posts: 108 Member
    I have the word foundations on my ribcage in cursive. I've always loved the quote from Thoreau, "If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost, that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them."

    The word "foundations" serves as a reminder to always do everything I have to do to achieve even my loftiest dreams.
  • kaseyr1505
    kaseyr1505 Posts: 624 Member
    I was 18, and I wanted to rebel. So, I got the smallest tattoo the shop had (an anchor). I love it because it reminds me that being spontaneous isn't always a bad thing, but I'm a little embarrassed because it seems like anchors are super trendy. I'm thinking of finding a good artist where I live and incorporating the anchor in a bigger thing.
  • saddare
    saddare Posts: 32 Member
    On my upper left arm I have the POW/MIA emblem, which was my 19th birthday present to myself. My grandfather was a POW in Germany in WWII, and my cousin is still MIA in Vietnam.

    I want to get a ring of Snoopys dancing around my ankle (positioned so their heads poke out over the top of my socks when I wear them!), but I haven't quite worked up that courage yet ... I've heard the ankle is *painful*! Maybe when I hit my goal, eh? =D
  • keeponkickin
    keeponkickin Posts: 1,520 Member
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    Sugar skull done for the memory of my precious mom. The pink roses were her favorite flowers and pink was her favorite color. We asked everyone to please wear something pink in her memory to her funeral. When I stood in front of that crowd of 300 and looked out at the sea of pink it was touching. I wear this tattoo with love and pride.
  • CasperO
    CasperO Posts: 2,913 Member
    I spent 26 years, nearly all of my adult life, with a woman who loved me but didn't like me. We killed each other a little every day, for reasons neither of us understood. My tattoo is an homage.

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  • SugarBaby71
    SugarBaby71 Posts: 3,630 Member
    mine's fake... for now. I've wanted one for a long time. I've picked the image -a dragon with blossoms... You have to look closely to see the dragon, I picked it because of my Asian heritage. I got the fake one simply to piss someone off... and it worked. Too bad it's not the real thing.
  • 1nsomniac13
    1nsomniac13 Posts: 133 Member
    I have a Legend of Zelda memorial tattoo on my arm. My nephew was 19 years younger than me, but we were both die-hard fans of the series. When cancer claimed him four years ago, I decided to get a tattoo. The tattoo is in the area that the cancer first started in his body and the tattoo is of the Master Sword and Hylian shield, battle worn and laid to rest.

    Seemed like a good tribute for a kid too young to die. :P
  • MaxPower0102
    MaxPower0102 Posts: 2,654 Member
    American Flag with Eagle head on my shoulder. I got it in September 2001, while working in Manhattan. 'Nuff said.
  • mantium999
    mantium999 Posts: 1,490 Member
    Picture in my profile. The turtle on my left arm is for my daughter. When she was tiny, she would jut her neck out while trying to crawl, earning the nickname of "Turtle". The tattoo is on my left arm/shoulder because that is the side she would always fall asleep on when I would hold her as a baby.
  • A mistake from when I was 18